


get in love and i bet you'll lose

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Getting Together, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Spoilers, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-02-21 21:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13152510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Either way, he’s too damn happy right now, and Kaito makes a mental note to watch himself, because Kokichi causes too much trouble for his own good and he always, always gets caught up in it.Kokichi is up to something again, and it's up to Kaito to figure out exactly what that is.





	get in love and i bet you'll lose

**Author's Note:**

> i said i'd write something for gray if she went to sleep earlier upon the game's release and then realized i couldn't write oumota, but nevertheless, this is finally done after a few years so here's my poor attempt at it haha, i hope it's any good
> 
> warning for mentions of momota's past homophobia bc i needed to try and discuss it, if that makes you uncomfortable please don't read! and if you need to tell me to tag anything else u may drop me a comment, i hope i don't hurt anyone aaaa

get in love and i bet you'll lose

* * *

 

Ouma Kokichi has a  _ plan. _

 

Kaito can see it in the musical tapping of his fingers, the satisfied hum, and the wide smile that he’s sure stretches to the ends of the earth. He has a certain song and dance that he always does, slipping into the roles of heroes and villains with ease. Small feet can fill larger shoes—that’s what it is, right?

 

Either way, he’s too damn happy right now, and Kaito makes a mental note to watch himself, because Kokichi causes too much trouble for his own good and he always, always gets caught up in it.

 

_ “Aww man, if you’re not gonna bother learning the truth about me, that means we have to say our final farewells when we graduate in a few months.” _

 

_ Kaito pumps his fist. “Heh, that's a relief! It means I’ll be done being dragged around with your lies!” _

 

_ Kaito thinks for a bit, and sighs. “But if you're saying that… it means we’ll see each other again after all.” _

 

_ A pause follows, and Kokichi looks directly into Kaito’s eyes. _

 

_ “Why do you say that?” _

 

_ “Cause you’re a liar, of course!” _

 

_ “So you're saying because I told you we’ll never meet again, we actually will?” A chuckle escapes his lips. “Not bad for you, Kaito.” _

 

Then one day, he appears on Kaito’s doorstep with sopping wet hair and a drooping countenance, and before he can even register his presence, Kaito doesn't hesitate to rush him inside and throw a towel at the back of his head.

 

Kokichi stays — and eventually, lightsabers are hung in the guest room, clothes are piled off to one side of the bed, and half of Kaito’s special glow in the dark stars have migrated to the guest room, shamelessly dangling from the ceiling.

 

It's not like him to be so nostalgic, Kaito thinks. Whatever. He can just talk about it to Shuuichi later. For now… 

 

“Oi, Ouma,” he turns his chair from where he was studying to face Kokichi. “Did you get the eggs?”

 

“I thought that was your job, Momota-chan,” he says, “It’s my turn to wash the dishes this week, so that was all your responsibility. Or did you just forget? Is that why you’re pinning the blame on me?”

 

“Cut the shit,” Kaito hisses in response, and Kokichi laughs cheerfully.

 

“Whatever you say, Momota-chan. But you know, if you can’t do that, we can’t have our weekly Oyakodon night, and wouldn’t that be a shame?”

 

“Are you trying to get me to buy the eggs  _ you _ forgot?”

 

His eyes hold a sparkle of mischief. “I don’t know, am I? And let’s not forget, those were  _ your _ eggs, Momota-chan.”

 

Kokichi stares into his eyes unblinkingly, and Kaito refuses to lose this battle. It goes on for several minutes, with Kaito only wiping his eyes once. In the end, Kokichi looks away and blinks several times.

 

“Geez, you’re hopeless, Momota-chan. You’re really determined to be lazy, aren’t you? How’s this — if you get the eggs, I’ll do the cooking today.”

 

Kaito pumps his fist. Kokichi’s the better cook out of the two of them by far, but also the lazier one. Most nights, Kaito ends up cooking while Kokichi watches him and tries to eat some of the food before it’s even ready, making cracks at Kaito’s lack of skill.

 

“Fine, if it’ll make you feel better about your laziness. But that’s a promise, you hear? A man doesn’t go back on his word,” he says, grabbing the coat and the scarf from the hanger, and opening the door before he puts them on just to see Ouma shiver.

 

“Momota-chaaaaaan,” he whines, “it’s cooooold!”

 

“It’s winter, Ouma. Make sure to put on something other than shorts if you don’t want to get sick,” he chides as he closes the door.

 

He adjusts his scarf and begins to walk towards the setting sun, in the direction of the nearest supermarket. Upon buying the eggs, he walks through the park that’s a shortcut to their apartment complex and notices the sun begin to fall, revealing curtains of stars across an ink-blotted sky.

 

He takes a seat on the bench, resting for no real reason other than to admire what he’s working towards, so that one day he could really touch the stars he’s spent so long chasing after.

 

Before he knows it, his pocket buzzes, and he opens his phone. “Who’s this?”

 

“Ah, Momota-kun,” comes Shuuichi’s voice, and for a second he instead hears the shy whisper of  _ Kaito _ through the bedding. “I figured I could call you, since it’s been so long…”

 

“Not a problem, Shuuichi. Are you looking at the same sky I am? It’s pretty breathtaking, ya know?”

 

“Yeah, I saw it and thought of you. Er, how has your studying been going, Momota-kun?”

 

“It’s been going well. Hey, Shuuichi?”

 

“What is it, Momota-kun?”

 

They talk for a long while, passersby coming from work and dog walkers crossing paths with them many times, but Kaito never once reduces his volume to speak about even the most private things.

 

That is, until he feels a nudge to his shin.

 

Coincidentally, the second he looks up with a bleary, “what,” Shuuichi disconnects with hasty apologies of how his train has arrived.

 

Kokichi looks at him again, eyes glaring starlight, and for a second he forgets how to breathe. But then Kokichi’s expression relaxes, and Kaito remembers to speak.

 

“What is it, Ouma?”

 

“You’ve been out for two whole hours. The convenience store was right down the hall. Geez, Momota-chan, I thought you were kidnapped by a rival organization again. I can’t keep losing subordinates, you know! Don’t you know how expensive mooks are to replace?”

 

“Wh—Who’s a subordinate?! If anything, you’re my sidekick! And even if I were, I definitely wouldn’t be a mook!”

 

“Hmm, is that really true, Momota-chan? You constantly treated Saihara-chan like a sidekick in the past, you know? Since there was no way you could be so lowly like one of  _ us, _ right?”

 

The “us” is something Kaito can’t ignore. It’s something well connected to their pasts, after all.

 

“What, are you talking about being a gay? That has nothing to do with it, you know. I’m gay, too. I was in denial. Hung around with some bad kids, you know. And because I was ashamed of being gay…I…Shuuichi—”

 

Kaito sighed with the weight of his guilt and twiddled his fingers before charging on ahead.

 

“That was… absolutely wrong of me. There’s no forgiving that, and I’m still honestly surprised Shuuichi still even wants to talk to me. He’s always had a big heart, that one,” Kaito chuckles wryly, and Kokichi snorts in agreement. “But… I learned something from that. Even if I regret that it happened, there’s no taking back my mistakes, and running away like that was the most cowardly, unmanly thing I could have done. So, to move on… I cut them off. And I reached out to Shuuichi again, and now we’re equals.”

 

“It’s good that you’ve stopped lying to yourself, Momota-chan, but what if you hurt the person you like again? I caught you, you know. Don’t pretend that the word ‘homosexual’ wasn’t about to leave your lips.”

 

“Yeah, that really shouldn’t have even crossed my mind,” he says, standing up and looking down at Kokichi so that they were face to face. “That was absolutely my bad, and I feel ashamed just thinking about it, jeez… I still have a long way to go before I’m clean of all my biases. But… I want to be honest about getting better, and I want to be honest about what I want… and I want you to be honest about your desires, because that’s not just good for you, but good for  _ others _ , too.”

 

Kokichi looks at him with calm, dead eyes.

 

“Be honest with my desires, huh,” He mumbles.

 

Looking Kaito straight in the eye, he yanks at his scarf, and after colliding with the side of his face —

 

—he runs away.

 

“Typical Ouma,” Kaito laughs, rubbing at his cheek.

 

He’ll be back, of course. Kaito knows he will after needing some space, so he starts the trek home with puffs of misty air trailing behind him, illuminating his trail.

 

★

 

Kaito runs the water and starts immersing the kombu and the katsuobushi to a low simmer on the stove, idly stirring the pot once in a while as he paces from the kitchen to the hall.

 

The door is silent, with no rings or knocks or the turning of keys. Kaito figures it would be better to stop worrying, but his hand doesn’t leave his phone. Eventually, he decides to put on his reading glasses and get to studying, but the warmth is too much and the words are so boring they blur and he falls asleep in his chair.

 

When he wakes up, the broth is boiling and he adds more salt before taking it off the heat, and then moves to check if Kokichi’s returns.

 

To his immense relief, he’s curled up on the couch, face pressed into the cushion and fast asleep, complete with light snoring. Next to him is their much too smart fat cat Inari, who’s stretched herself so comfortably across him that she almost sits on his face.

 

…He’s shivering.

 

Without even thinking about it, checkered cloth flies from his fingertips, and he blankets them both in warmth without so much as even touching them.

 

Kokichi shifts a little, turning his head—

 

—and while Kaito is too embarrassed to look again, he hopes that maybe, the small quirk of his lips was a smile.

 

★

 

Kaito rummages around, looking for the coriander—just where is it? when Kokichi walks into the kitchen.

 

“Oh, Momota-chan, smells good!”

 

“It better fucking be, I’ve worked on this for hours,” he grumbles. He can’t poach an egg, and he wasted a few trying. “Wanna lend me a hand?”

 

“Hmm,” Kokichi cheerfully pretends to think. “Sure, Momota-chan, since you asked so nicely for once. Good boy.”

 

Kaito stirs the chicken in the frying pan vigorously. “Who’s your ‘good boy?’ Certainly not me.”

 

Kokichi puts a finger to his lips as if he were sharing a secret. “Well, somebody has to be the child in the Oyakodon. And naturally, since I’m much more mature, I have to be the parent. It’s as simple as that!”

 

Kaito scoffed. “Oh, hell no.  _ I’m _ the parent in this relationship. Look at you. You’re so damn tiny,” he says, stirring the pot. “By the way, can you get the rice vinegar?”

 

“Well, that doesn’t matter, does it? I’m much taller now, so of course I can get it for my dear child,” Kokichi proclaims, placing his hands on his hips while he stands on the top ladder.

 

“Here, Momota-chan,” he says, holding the bottle out — but when Kaito moves to take it from Kokichi’s hand, he suddenly stuffs it behind his back.

 

“Nope, you have to beg me for it first!”

 

“…I sure as hell ain’t begging! We live in the same house!”

 

“Then, you’ll have to catch me for it! Come closer!”

 

“I will!” He yells, and steps forward, only to crash into Kokichi again as he wraps his arms around him, the latter’s wet mouth crashing into his forehead. But he isn’t disappointed, since —

 

“Haha, got it! Who’s the beggar now?”

 

Kokichi’s face is a little pink as he wipes his mouth. “That was underhanded, Momota-chan.”

 

“Says you! Now, will you help me make this Oyakodon good or not? You keep complaining when I cook, so you might as well, like, actually help me.”

 

“Isn’t that what I always do?” Kokichi flutters his eyelashes. “You’re always so unobservant, Momota-chan. It’s almost charming, really.”

 

“I’m not charming, I’m handsome,” he pouts. “Soy sauce?”

 

Kokichi reaches for the top cabinet and hands it to him without issue. “Here. And before you waste even more eggs, let me poach it.”

 

Kaito steps away from the stove so Kokichi can climb down. Kokichi expertly puts the egg in a bowl and slides it into the pot of water with vinegar. It doesn’t break, so it’s a success.

 

“See, Momota-chan? You try it with a bowl next time. It’s the cooking form of using children’s chopsticks with a rubber band.”

 

“Like I said, I’m not the child!”

 

Kokichi ruffles Kaito’s hair. “Are you sure?”

 

“I’m absolutely sure! Fuck, I’ll bet on it! If this dish is to your taste, you’ll have to acknowledge I’m the winner once and for all!”

 

Kokichi snickers with confidence. “Hmm, we’ll see on that, Momota-chan!”

 

★

 

Kokichi picks it all up into his chopsticks—the runny poached egg, the soy-sauce, the broth-soaked rice—and takes a bite.

 

“Well…”

 

“Well, Ouma? Was I right? Was this the best Oyakodon you’ve ever had?”

 

Kokichi pretends to think. “Hmm…”

 

Kaito sweats a little. “Hey, you better not be flaking out on me right now.”

 

“Alright, alright. I guess I have to admit this Oyakodon is pretty good… not the best, though.”

 

Kaito pumps his fist. “Yes!”

 

“…but that’s a lie!”

 

Kaito deflates very quickly. “Oh, come on!”

 

“Or maybe I was kidding about that, too? Nishishi, I wonder what the truth is!”

 

Without fail, Kokichi eats every bite. And when they stand up…

 

“Hey, Ouma, can you look here for a second?”

 

Kokichi turns in his direction. “Hm? What is it, Momota-chan?”

 

“There’s something on your face,” He says, and leans in to flick the rice off, but ends up staring into his eyes instead.

 

Kaito leans in closer, closer, until…

 

“Wait,” Kaito says, backing off. “I should ask first. Ouma… can I kiss you?”

 

Kaito can feel Kokichi freeze and stare at him with wide eyes as if he can’t believe he’s asked.

 

“You… are so ridiculous,” Kokichi says. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice at all what I was doing?”

 

Kaito’s confusion could not be displayed any plainer on his face. “What were you doing?”

 

“Oh my god,” he mumbles. “I was trying to kiss you, but because you’re so stupidly tall I had to find creative ways to do it, and you didn’t get it after all this time?”

 

Realization dawns. “Wait, so at the park when you tried to pull my scarf down—”

 

“Yes!”

 

“And when you tried to hide the bottle from me—?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“—You were trying to kiss me this whole time? Holy shit.”

 

Kokichi wrings his hands. “Yes, Momota-chan. I said you were unobservant, but I didn’t think you were  _ this  _ unobservant!”

 

Kaito worriedly places his hands on Kokichi’s shoulders. “Dude, I thought you didn’t like me, so what was that earlier? That I could make mistakes again with the person I like? Aren’t you… worried about that? Aren’t you worried I could hurt you if we got into a relationship?”

 

Kokichi laughs. “What, do you not want me to trust you?”

 

Kaito replies with absolute resolution, “I do. But I want you to be sure. It’s going to be a really long road if we’re going to have to put up with each other.”

 

Kokichi hums. “Well, I can’t think that you’re not lying a little bit, deep down. But… if you want me to trust you, you’re going to have to prove yourself, you know? When it comes to two liars like us, there’s little one can really hide, you know? Either that, or Momota-chan’s lies are really transparent!”

 

Kaito looks him directly in the eye. “Then, be honest with yourself, Ouma. What do you want?”

 

Their foreheads are touching. Kokichi smiles.

 

“…What do you think, Momota-chan?” 

 

Instead of answering, Kaito moves to hold him close.

**Author's Note:**

> a huge, huge thank you to users @corgasboard and @fatiguedfern for putting up with me during all of this and helping me try to understand oumota, as well as the recipient, @grayimperia herself!


End file.
